ISLAMABAD
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Minister Sardar Javed Ayub said on Saturday that the government remained committed to resolving issues through dialogue despite differences with the opposing side.
Speaking to media outside Zardari House in Islamabad, he said the government had made every possible effort to address concerns and approve demands, but alleged that the other side had shown rigidity in negotiations.
Sardar Javed Ayub said AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Faisal Mumtaz Rathore had reiterated that the government was still ready for talks and wanted to keep the doors of dialogue open.
He said a meeting of the Pakistan Peoples Party AJK parliamentary party was underway at Zardari House to discuss political affairs and preparations for upcoming elections.
Defending the government’s decision to declare the Public Action Committee unlawful and launch arrests, the minister said protecting citizens, public property and maintaining law and order were constitutional responsibilities of the government.
He stressed that peaceful protest was a democratic right of every citizen, but violations of the law could not be permitted.
The minister said the government would take all necessary measures within the legal framework to maintain peace and stability, adding that law-enforcement agencies would continue to perform their duties wherever the law was breached.
He maintained that peace, stability and public safety remained the government’s top priorities in Azad Kashmir.
